TfL to soon launch Hammersmith ferry service while famous bridge is closed
Hammersmith and Fulham Council and TfL have rowed with the government over funding to get the bridge repaired, with the London bodies believing it will cost £140m. (Getty Images)
A temporary ferry service will soon operate in west London to shuttle pedestrians and cyclists across the Thames alongside the closed Hammersmith Bridge.
Transport for London (TfL) announced today that it had received bids from City Cruises and Uber Boats by Thames Clippers to run the shuttle service, after receiving government funding.
The new ferry will be able to take 800 passengers an hour across the river and will run from 6am to 10pm on weekdays, as well as an “off-peak service” at the weekend.
The closure of Hammersmith Bridge is to be reassessed following reports from Aecom and University of Cambridge professor Norman Fleck which suggest that the closure may have been overly cautious.
Both reports conclude that the bridge could be reopened to cyclists and pedestrians with minimal work needed.
However, the reports suggest that the closure of the bridge may have been overly cautious.
Aecom’s report concludes that the crack which caused the bridge to be closed “may not be as serious as previously thought”.
It adds that the crack in question is unlikely to widen further as it “appears to have propagated into the base plate and it is not possible to propagate any further”.